Exorbitant Melody
by Tamah
Summary: The Brass Tower Nightclub is a hot property in Ecruteak. How far will one man go to have it? T to be safe. AU
1. Exorbitant Melody

Hi everyone! This story is probably only going to be a two-shot, or maybe a three-shot if I drag it out. This was inspired by listening to techno remixes of Pokemon Music on Youtube. Mainly lnfernape's Burned Tower remix. You should go like watch it, and stuff.

Disclaimer: I don't own.

-Tamah

* * *

Exorbitant Melody

Aerthusa leaned back in her chair and glanced at her watch. She was expecting a visitor soon. When she had talked to the man on the phone, he had claimed to have a proposition for her. Though she probably- no, definitely wasn't going to be up for it, it still piqued her curiosity. The man who called had claimed to be the heir of the Cooper family, an extremely wealthy real-estate family in Ecruteak.

The door swung open, and the man walked in. He was wearing a stylish suit, and looked very professional. He also had an aura of intimidation, like he was always used to getting his own way. Aerthusa wasn't bothered by that at all, and she motioned for him to sit down.

"Ms. Chambers, I am Euros Cooper. I'm sure you've heard of my family before?" he said in a smooth voice.

"Yes I have, Mr. Cooper. Now, what is this proposition of yours?" Aerthusa said matter-of-factly.

His eyes narrowed at her attitude. Aerthusa smiled inwardly, knowing that he was probably confused at her lack of fear.

"I think that you will not be able to refuse this offer." He said, staring into her eyes. She stared right back, unblinkingly._ If it was a staring contest that he wanted_, she mused, _he had come to the right place._ "I wish to buy your nightclub for this much money." He pulled out a slip of paper, and handed it to her.

She glanced at the paper. She examined the value written on the slip. "Now, I need to ask, what would you be doing with this property?" she said.

He glared coldly at her. "I don't need to tell you my business, Ms. Chambers, now please, confirm my offer so I can attend my next appointment."

She handed the paper back to him. "I'm sorry, Mr. Cooper, I will have to decline your offer."

He stood up, indignant. "What is the meaning of this?! I offered you enough to live the rest of your life in comfort, yet you deny me?" Aerthusa noted that his business-like veneer was flaking off.

"I'm sorry, I enjoy owning this business, and would not sell it for any amount of money. Now good day, I wouldn't want for you to be late." She said, and she motioned for the door.

He left, angrily sputtering empty threats. She smiled, and finished her paperwork.

* * *

Shiri dressed quickly, and ran outside to meet her carpool. She worked as a DJ in an up-and-coming nightclub called The Brass Tower. She carpooled with three other girls, two of the dancers (not stripper kind of dancers,) named Ember and Nariko, and one of the bartenders, named Aria.

Aria's beat up old blue sedan pulled up, and Shiri got in, and they drove to the Brass Tower.

The head bouncer, a man named Adam, was talking to their boss, a woman named Aerthusa, outside. He nodded, and she went back inside. They got out of the car, and headed over to him.

"Hey Adam," Aria said, "What was the boss talking to you about?"

He rolled his eyes. "Some nut job wanted to buy the place, and she turned him down. Apparently he seemed like the kind of guy to come back."

"I'd turn him down too, this place is like Aerthusa's life." Ember said.

Adam laughed. "Yeah, I've never seen a more dedicated lady than her, that's for sure." He looked in the club. "You ladies better get in there, there's already some people, and you know how bad Elsu is at

DJ-ing."

Shiri laughed. "Yeah, I'd better get in there." She walked in, and like every night, the flashing lights and everything calmed her down and made her smile. The dance floor was almost packed, but the people weren't dancing because there was no music. A lot of the people were at the glittering stainless steel bars that lined the first floor. She looked up at the higher floors, where people would go to be (sort of ) alone. The Brass Tower was five floors tall, and the second floor and higher had most of the floor removed, so when you looked up from the first floor, you could see the very top of the building.

She went to the DJ's "cage," which was an elevated room with glass walls. She could see that one of the bartenders, a man named Elsu, was obviously flipping out. She opened the door and he hugged her out of grateful-ness. "Shiri! Oh thank you!"

She laughed. "Sorry I was late."

He let her go, and smiled. "Nah, it's okay." He left, and headed down to his bar. He waved to her. She waved back, then started doing her thing.

When she was in the zone, she began looking at all of the people in the place. The "cage" was in the right spot to see pretty much the whole first floor of the club. She sighed. Nothing really interesting had been happening that night, just a few people getting blitzed and having to get ousted by Adam and his crew.

After the Last Call, and when Shiri was about to leave, Aerthusa pulled her aside for a minute.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked.

There was a cold feeling in the pit of Shiri's stomach. Was she about to get fired? Her knees were made of jelly as she followed her boss. Aerthusa led Shiri to her office, and motioned for the girl to sit.

"Calm down." Aerthusa said, "You did a good job tonight."

"W-why did you c-call me in h-h-here?" Shiri said, her voice a little wobbly.

"I noticed you tend to be watching the crowd most of the night." Aerthusa said.

Shiri nodded.

"I just want to tell you to be on the lookout. I have received a call tonight that makes me suspicious."

"O-oh." Shiri said, breathing in a sigh of relief. "I thought you were going to f-fire me. . . ."

Aerthusa laughed, but it sounded fake. Shiri noticed the worried look that was on her boss' face, and that disturbed her more than anything. "Who should I look for?"

"I highly doubt he'll do anything himself." she said after awhile. "I'm sure Aria is waiting for you."

Shiri nodded, and left.

* * *

"So, Shiri, what did the boss have to tell you?" Nariko said excitedly, "Did you get a raise?"

Shiri shook her head. "No, some guy is creeping her out."

Nariko frowned. "Aerthusa, creeped out? That's kinda worrying." Nariko looked out of the window.

"Didn't Adam say something about that?" Ember said.

"He did, didn't he?" Aria said, staring at the road. She stopped in front of Shiri's apartment building. She said her goodbyes, and got out of the car.

* * *

Ignacio was worried. He had gotten a call from his friend that night, telling him that she had wanted to talk. Aerthusa never had just wanted to "talk." He tapped the door, and a tired looking redheaded man appeared. The man surveyed Ignacio's clothes, and snorted. Little wonder, Ignacio thought, he hadn't changed out of his other clothes, which consisted of latex and feathers, bright red and orange feathers that made a headdress and a long boa that wrapped around his body.

"I think you're at the wrong bar buddy. I think you're looking for the Tin Tower, that one's the gay bar, and besides, we're closed."

Ignacio glared. "I'm here to speak to your boss, I'll have you know." He humph-ed. "And I _run_ the Tin Tower."

"Ignacio?" Aerthusa called, "It's alright, Adam, let him in, please."

Adam looked at Ignacio for one last time, and moved aside. He followed Aerthusa to her office.

"What's wrong?" Ignacio said, declining to sit. It wasn't very comfortable to sit in his latex. . . .outfit. "You never call anymore." he accused.

She sighed. "Euros Cooper wants to buy this place."

"You told him no, I'm sure?" Ignacio said.

"Of course." She managed a weak smile. "At first I thought he would just accept it, so I wasn't worried, but now he won't stop calling and threatening me."

"Really? And I'm sure the police won't help at all? Of course not, since the Coopers are so rich they could buy the government." He said, answering his own question.

She shook her head. "What should I do?"

Ignacio placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure everything will be just fine, just relax. He's probably just bluffing."

Aerthusa nodded. "I hope so."

* * *

So, this is the end of the first part. Excuse any of my mistakes, I wrote this in the wee hours of the morning with my dog snoring on me. . . .


	2. Exorbitant Lament

Wow! I wrote this up a lot faster than I expected. Oh well. Be warned! Character death be in this tale's future.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Duh.

-Tamah

* * *

The next night was Saturday, so Aria had a hard time finding a parking spot. But she managed to, eventually, and Ember and Nariko ran down to the basement, where the dressing room was. Aria and Shiri walked in through the front, like they always did, and found Adam standing out front again.

"Did the boss demote you or something?" Aria asked him, jokingly.

Adam laughed, "Nah, I just want to watch tonight's crowd."

Shiri realized that he was really worried, too. "Do you think that the guy was serious?" She asked.

"I hope not." Adam said as Aria pulled her into the club. Shiri went to the cage, and was surprised to see the other DJ, a man named Fox, actually waited for her to show up.

"Well it looks like someone's early today." Fox laughed. "That's good, poor Elsu won't have to sweat it out up here."

Shiri laughed too. "Yeah, the poor guy."

"Good luck, girl." Fox said as he left.

She sat down, and looked through the club. Tonight was going to slam-packed, she thought, Good. It'll take my mind off of things. She managed a smile, then she immersed herself in doing what she loved, making music.

Just like Shiri had predicted, the Brass Tower was packed that night, even more than usual, it looked like. Shiri was trying to look for suspicious people, but it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Her eyes drifted over to Adam, and he waved at her, and pointed to his wrist. She had no idea what he meant, until she realized he was pointing at his watch. Oh.

She glanced at her wristwatch, and she found out it was long past last call. Adam must want her to stop the music. She relayed the message, and people slowly began pouring out of the club.

A few minutes later, something in the corner of the room caught her eye. There was a man wearing a suit with a red. . . . thing in his hands. She stared at him for a moment, before he threw the thing. The man seemed oddly familiar. He turned his head in her direction, and they stared at each other for a long moment, before the man threw the thing somewhere, and threw a little spark. Within an instant, bright flames leapt up towards the ceiling, and it seemed that the man had spread gasoline all over the place, leading to the basement.

Oh god, the basement! Shiri thought, Nariko and Ember! She scrambled out of the cage and sprinted towards the basement. When she got there, the flames prevented her from getting down there.

"Help!" she heard someone say. Shiri realized Aria was stuck down there too. She stood there, in shock. She realized that, you know, she should start running, but her legs wouldn't move. She felt a pair of strong arms grab her, and pull her out.

* * *

He had never felt so alive. That'll teach that bitch to mess with the Euros G. Cooper. He laughed. He sure showed her, alright. He felt proud as he surveyed his handiwork. This was his most precious masterpiece, and hell, he even saved money on the demolition. Still chuckling, he left the way he came, out a window in the men's bathroom. All that was left was that one loose end. . . .

* * *

A few hours later, all that remained of the nightclub were the ashes. The firefighters had valiantly tried to put out the blaze, but it was no use.

Shiri just sat on the pavement the entire time, in shock. Elsu sat next to her the whole time. He was the one who had pulled her out of the inferno.

The firefighters had told her that her friends had died. They said that Nariko had been pinned underneath something, and Ember and Aria had tried to pull her out, but they died of smoke inhalation.

Shiri watched Aerthusa most of the time. A strange clothed man stood next to her, and she leaned on him and sobbed. That was the first time that Shiri had ever seen her boss cry or anything.

Sometime in the morning, Elsu drove her home, and stayed with her for most of the day.

* * *

There was a loud banging at Shiri's door. She looked over at the clock. It was nine in the morning. She trudged to the door, and Elsu stood there.

"What?" she asked.

"The police want your story, remember? You're supposed to be at the station soon." he said.

She slowly nodded. "Give me a minute, okay?" she shuffled back into her room, and changed into some decent clothes. When she came back, Elsu was sitting on her couch.

"You wanna know what I think?" he said after a while. She nodded.

"I think that this is just a waste of time." He sighed, and got up. "Well, we'd better go, we shouldn't be late."

* * *

Ignacio rubbed his temples as he sat in the station, in the interviewing room. The room smelled musty, and the lighting was terrible. He could almost swear that the mold on the opposite wall had just moved.

The cop who sat in front of him looked pretty shifty, Ignacio thought after a while, and not the good kind of shifty.

"Are you sure Mr. Cooper committed these crimes?" the cop drawled. Ignacio could smell his hideous coffee breath from where he sat.

"Yes." he said, unblinkingly, to the cop.

"Well, would you mind telling me why your friend has fled the city?"

Ignacio raised an eyebrow. "She's gone?"

The cop smiled. "What, you didn't know?" That smile, Ignacio noted, was like an invitation for someone to punch him square in the jaw. He resisted the urge to do just that, and leaned back in the off-white plastic chair.

"No, I wasn't aware of that." A pang of worry coursed through him, he hoped that she was okay.

"Yeah, well she hightailed it outta here like a harlot leaving a church." The cop's vocabulary seemed. . . colorful.

"Well I can assure you that she didn't cause the fire."

The cop grinned, baring his bright yellow, nicotine-stained teeth. "Well, now, the money in my pocket says she did do it."

Ignacio stood up. "Well, if you're not going to do anything about this, I'll find someone who will."

"To hell you will. Ain't nobody is gonna testify against Cooper, and you damn-well know it."

Ignacio laughed, but it was hollow. "You're like a walking stereotype." He turned, and walked out of the room.

* * *

Elsu led Shiri into the police station, and sat her down. He talked to the receptionist for a few minutes before he turned back to Shiri.

"Okay, the room is down the hall." he said, patting her on the shoulder. She nodded, and walked towards the room.

A man burst out of the room in front of her, shocking her. She slowly remembered him being the guy with Aerthusa. He clearly recognized her too, and stopped.

"There's no point in going in there, you're not going to get your closure, and neither am I, it seems." the man said.

"What do you mean?" Shiri said in a flat tone.

"I tried telling them it was Euros Cooper, but it was like talking to a brick wall."

"Euros. . . .Cooper?" the words slowly sank in. It hit her, suddenly. "I saw him! He torched the place. . . ." her fists clenched. She didn't know how, or when, but she was going to get revenge. . . .somehow.

The look on her face must've tipped him off, and he grabbed her shoulder. "No. . . . It's not worth it."

"Oh yes it is." she said, as she pulled herself free, and ran towards the door.

She dashed past Elsu, and the clerk, and Elsu ran after her. He managed to grab a hold of her. "What are you doing!?" he yelled.

Ignacio caught up, too, and Elsu looked at him strangely. "Did you do something to her?"

Shiri shook her head. "I have to go do something, okay?"

Elsu let go of her. "Alright, I guess."

She ran off again, to the direction of the Cooper Complex, which was only a block away.

* * *

Shiri panted, as she waited for the elevator. She didn't have a clue as to what she was going to do when she got up there. She was going to confront him, and then see how that went from there. But she wasn't thinking about plans or anything, she was just thinking about pure anger.

"Ding!" the elevator slid open, and the cheerful music seemed to mock her. She jammed the penthouse button and waited. When the doors slid open, she scrambled out, and made a beeline to the secretary.

"I need to speak with Mr. Euros Cooper." her voice was cold and mechanical sounding.

The secretary nodded. "He's been expecting you."

She walked to the door, and pulled it open. Euros Cooper stared at her with an intimidating glare. "I've been expecting you." he said, in a weird voice. He had something wrapped in cloth in his lap, and he was stroking it fondly.

"I know what you did." she said, her voice quiet.

With a flick of his hand, he flung the cloth away. "I know. . . . But. . . . I always take care of my loose ends." And with those final words, he lifted the object- Shiri realized, too late, that it was a gun,- and he shot her in the head.

* * *

When Ignacio and Elsu arrived at the Complex, they realized that they had been too late.

The secretary had saw a grisly scene when she, being curious about the sound, opened the door and found the girl dead, and her boss sobbing incoherently on the floor.

Ignacio left Ecruteak to travel the world, and leave his sorrows behind. Eventually he found out that Aerthusa had went to the Whirl Islands, a classy resort island chain, and killed herself there by jumping into the ocean. The Cooper Family built a monument commemorating the four girls, using some creatures from Ecruteak mythology, three mythical beasts named Raikou for Nariko, Suicune for Aria, and Entei for Ember, and for Shiri, a Celebi.

* * *

Well, that' probably the most depressing ending I'll ever write. . . . I hope.

-Tamah


End file.
